Traitor (Last to Leave Book 1) by Nicole Blanchard

Author:Nicole Blanchard [Blanchard, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bolero Books LLC
Published: 2018-10-22T18:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Peyton

The weekend brings with it new tourists, families with children eager to make messes, wives with bottles of wine and cheery friends, and church socials with lots of laughter. The bustle keeps me so busy, I barely have time to think about the woman on the boat, let alone get back to the lake for another look. Whenever I think I have a moment to spare, Alice calls me back with another task.

Maybe after tonight’s Art and W(h)ine event, I’ll be able to sneak off to Bear Lake and give it a quick walk-around. No one has seen anything in the days since I left the lodge, but it’s still cold out. There aren’t that many people eager to brave the chill in the air for the views.

“Tourists prefer to see the views from the comfort of their toasty rooms,” Alice says, walking over to the table to help clean up after a party of five.

“I’m sorry?”

“You were talking to yourself. About the weather, I think.”

I blush as I wipe down the tables. “I’m sorry.”

Alice grins and wipes her hands on an already paint-streaked apron. “Don’t worry about it. We’re all a little crazy.”

Pausing, I wipe my hand across my forehead. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to complain. I guess you’ve probably heard what happened.”

“There were rumors. I’ve heard you witnessed a murder!” She said it in that small-town way where people don’t want to be interested in something horrendous, but clearly are.

“Sometimes it feels like a nightmare instead of reality.”

“They also said your parents were killed and you were there. That must make it awful hard for you to go through something like this again.”

She isn’t wrong. “I understand if you don’t need more drama here. I promise I’ll do my job and won’t bring any trouble.”

“You don’t have to apologize to anyone, least of all me. I’ve never seen anything like that and I wouldn’t begin to know how you’re feeling. The best medicine is to keep yourself busy.”

“Well, you’ve certainly been helping with that,” I tell her, smiling to take the edge off the remark.

“You’ve been a wonderful help. We’ve only got the last party today and then I’ll let you go for the afternoon. You deserve a break after all the hard work you’ve been doing.”

I stow away the paints on the cart. “You don’t have to do that. I’m grateful for the work.”

Alice makes a sound in her throat. “Don’t go contradicting me now. Get this cleaned up and the party room prepped, then you can clock out. I know you’ve got some work to do at your house anyway.”

She isn’t wrong. In exchange for a break on the rent, Alice is allowing me to fix up the place piece by piece. A coat of paint here, some cleaning there. I don’t mind the extra work because she was right, it did keep me busy. You can’t worry if you don’t have time to stop long enough to do it.

“Thank you, Alice, you can’t know how much I appreciate it.

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